Many sports require the hitting of a ball using different techniques to gain a competitive advantage in a game. For example in the sport of tennis the technique of making the ball spin as it travels through the air provides some distinct advantages. One ground stoke technique is that of hitting a ball with top spin in which the ball can driven through the air at a high velocity and still remain in play due to the curved flight path that the ball takes. This technique requires a specific stoke pattern to be developed which is difficult to master when a balls are delivered by a ball machine or an assistant because the balls are in constant motion and they typically land in different positions with varying characteristics of bounce. When a mistake is made by a player or student attempting to learn a particular stroke technique, it can be difficult for the player to analyze and correct the problem due to the many inherent variables. Some of the existing devices for tennis training allow a player to practice repeated hits from a fixed location, however, these devices are often difficult to use or transport. In addition, for the existing training devices, the ball is typically fixed to some sort of tether or requires special modification of a ball in order to release from the device, which may have an adverse effect on the flight path and give the player a distorted perception of the success of their attempt to hit the ball. What has been needed are training techniques and devices to support the techniques that are simple and easy to implement, can accommodate any type of ball typically used in the game, including well worn practice balls, and that yield a natural and realistic flight path for a ball hit using the techniques and devices.